As past world champion and silver medalist in the lightweight women's double in rowing, I wish to share with you thoughts on training, competition and being an elite athlete. Please join me in support of my Olympic dream. Go Canada!

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Saturday, January 8, 2011

To Do What Others Can't, You Must Do What Others Won't

This has been the theme over the christmas break. After a motivating team meeting it was decided that in order to improve on last year's performances at worlds, the team must use christmas break not as a time to gain weight, lose fitness and drink too much christmas joy, but utilise the days to get ahead of the competition. The result: one of the most successful christmas training breaks I have ever accomplished. However, it's still not over and it's hard getting that motivation to wake up on a dark winter morning to go row when there may or may not be others there...but there always has been someone there and that's why it has been successful. When a team is willing to back each other by showing up in the hardest moments, that's when brilliance starts to happen. I showed up at the lake last week prepared for a 12km steady state...no big deal right? Malcolm had 20km in mind, so that's what I did. Would I have done it if he weren't there? Probably not. So I used that as the theme of the break and I tried to think every time I didn't want to do something "Who else in the world doesn't want to train right now? Let's hope they don't, because I'm going to." I've erged, I've rowed, I've ran and the best workout yet...two hour x-country skis that I'm so terrible at that I'm sure my output (based on pure inefficiency) is far greater than anything I can do on the rowing machine.

Anyways, a toast to great team mates who inspired the true holiday spirit: train when others don't!